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 The New York Knicks added another player to their roster over the weekend -- a former top 5 pick in the 1999 NBA draft who never fulfilled his potential.
The free agent is Jonathan Bender, who's making his return to the NBA where he last played in 2005 when he was a member of the Indiana Pacers.
"Jonathan has worked extremely hard in preparing himself for a return to the NBA," Knicks' president, Donnie Walsh, said of the new signee. "I know him to be a young man of the highest character from my relationship with him that dates back 10 years to his rookie year and I think he will be a fine addition to our team both on and off the court."
The 7-foot Bender is now 28, and hasn't played in years. But, when he did play he was often injured. During his stint with the Pacers he only played more than 60 games once during the 2001-02 season, where he averaged a career-high 7.4 points and 3.1 rebounds.
The injuries, however, forced him to miss 172 games over the next three seasons before chronic knee pain sidelined him indefinitely in February 2006.
"He can put the ball on the floor," Walsh said.. "He used to be able to get to the basket on one dribble from halfcourt. There's not a whole lot of guys who can do that. I don't know if he can do that now, but he knows how to play."
Bender was selected out of high school by Toronto with the fifth overall pick in the 1999 draft, but was traded off to Indiana shortly after.
He formed a relationship with former Pacers president Walsh during their time together in Indiana.
"When I came out of the N.B.A., the plan was to come straight into rehab," Bender said of his time away from the league. "Rest for a minute, rest for at least a year and go straight into rehab and try it again at some point. I couldn't live to be 38, 39 years old saying I at least didn't try again.
"When you do something your whole life and it comes to an end all of a sudden, you've got to accept it. I wasn't down on myself, but I knew I was never going to stop. I knew I was going to try again."
The signing of Bender now brings the Knicks' roster to its maximum of 15 players. It's currently unknown what Bender's role will be on the team.
The Knicks have won five of their last six games, and currently hold a record of 8-15. Their current high-scorer is Al Harrington, who is averaging just over 20 ppg coming off the bench.
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